“I’m not 100 per cent ready – and Djokovic beat me in practice!” Alcaraz still planning on big wins in Paris after long year

Carlos Alcaraz’s 2022 season came to an end in Paris, but he is hoping his body will hold out this time for the Masters after a long and gruelling year.

The world No 1 spot has been something he and Novak Djokovic have duelled over throughout 2023, but the pair showed that neither holds a grudge – practising together on arrival in France.

“I think it was the best way to get ready for this tournament – practise with the best one,” the Spaniard said on Monday.

“We spoke before coming here to Paris and we, yeah, we talk about if we can practise one day. It happen[ed] yesterday. He won! Hopefully just for practice!”

He added in Spanish, in quotes translated by Tennis Majors: “Everyone is at their own pace, of course. He’s with his team, I’m with mine. But we have a great relationship off the court. He’s a wonderful person. We talk about everything and anything. Obviously, he’s not going to give me advice on how to beat him, since we’re battling for the No 1 spot in the world, but we talk about all sorts of things: the tour, things to improve, other sports, I saw he was at the rugby match… After training, in fact, we had a ‘foot-tennis’ game. These are great moments.”

Alcaraz: Almost every player will have a problem with their bodies

The 20-year-old also admitted that the rigours of the season had taken their toll, with his most recent physical injuries including a foot problem and a back issue that forced him out of the Swiss Indoors in Basel.

“Well, I’m not gonna say that I’m 100% because it could be a lie,” he said. “You know, at this time of the year, you know, after a long year, I think almost every player has a little bit of problems in their bodies.

“I’m feeling in that way. I’m feeling a little bit of pain, you know, but I had a really good recovery these weeks. I’m coming here feeling well enough to do a good result here.

I” don’t know if he has more chances or me. Jannik, for example, is playing unbelievable. Medvedev as well. There are a lot of great players that are playing in high level, you know, so I think that the draw is really, really open, and a lot of players can win this tournament.”

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